Lanonia calciphila

Lanonia (lah-non-EE-ah) calciphila (kahl-sih-FEE-lah)
2015 Vietnam. "Like dasyantha it has both spicate and branched infructesences." Photo by Stephen Villiers.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Lanonia (lah-non-EE-ah) Species: calciphila (kahl-sih-FEE-lah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Costapalmate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
La non

Habitat and Distribution

Native to, Vietnam. Endemic to northern Vietnam; (Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Son La)

Vietnam. Photo-(Société Palmophile Francophone).

in primary, broad-leaved, evergreen forest on steep slopes, often in karst limestone areas, at 1,015 m elevation.

Description

Stems clustered, to 2 m tall, 1.5-2 cm in diameter, erect or sometimes creeping. Leaves 10-17 per crown; leaf sheaths 10-15 cm long, extended above the petioles into about 15 cm long auricles; petioles 60-84 cm long, the proximal about half or less with widely spaced, recurved, brown spines to 0.6 cm long; blades to 58 cm wide, split into 5-7 segments, without minute reddish-brown scales abaxially, with straight sides; costas 6.0-10.0 cm long; middle segment split for half or more it's length (to apex of costa) into 2 lobes, these wider than the other segments, 17-28 cm long, 7-11 cm wide at the apices; indentations leading to adaxial folds 0.4 cm deep, those leading to abaxial folds 0.3 cm deep, indentations deeper on lateral segments. Inflorescences to 90 cm long, erect among the leaves; prophylls to 11 cm long; peduncles to 52 cm long; rachis to 45 cm long with 1-5 partial inflorescences (2-5 on staminate plants, 1 on pistillate plants), these branched to 1 order, subtended by narrow, tubular, scarcely brown tomentose rachis bracts, these splitting apically; staminate rachillae 2-4 on each partial inflorescence, 6-11 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diameter, moderately covered with wooly, brown hairs; floral stalks scarcely developed, solitary or borne in pairs, each subtended by small, ciliate bracteoles; staminate flower buds 2.8-4.5 mm long, bullet-shaped; calyces 2.5-3.5 mm long, cupular, gibbous, 3-lobed at the apices, ciliate, scurfy brown hairy at the bases; corollas 2.8-3.5 mm long, split for about half their length into 3 petals, glabrous; staminal rings about 0.5 mm long; filaments free for about 0.5 mm long, more or less equal in length; anthers 0.3 mm long; pistillate rachilla 1 on the single partial inflorescence, 13-21 cm long, about 2 mm in diameter, hairy as the staminate rachillae; floral stalks scarcely developed, solitary, each subtended by ciliate bracteoles; pistillate flower buds ellipsoid, about 2.5 mm long; calyces about 2.5 mm long, cupular, gibbous, 3-lobed at the apices with each lobe splitting again as the fruits develop and becoming 6-lobed, ciliate, brown scurfy hairy at the bases; corollas about 2 mm long, split for almost their entire length into 3 petals, glabrous; staminal rings scarcely developed, with vestigial filaments; pistils about 2 mm long including a 0.5 mm long style, glabrous. Fruits about 1 cm in diameter, globose, bright red at maturity, sometimes 2 fruits developing from one flower, epicarp warty. Editing by edric.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 9a